
Having a laugh: Where does Ireland rank in funniest countries?
Chatting to an Irish person can be confusing if you are not used to their craic, as often times we say the opposite of what we mean.
'I will, yeah,' is a lot of the time a straight no if you are asking a favour, while other times we greet each other with an insult — but typically the worse the insult, the more heartwarming we mean it. Pic: RTE
A new survey of 6,000 people across 30 countries has now decided who the funniest nation is, and while we were pipped at the post, Ireland still ranked pretty high.
The study found that the Czech Republic topped the list, with the author of the study, Ryan Riley from Remitly, commending the country's dry wit.
Portugal followed in second place, with Ryan branding their humour 'warm [and] socially intelligent.' A new service of 6,000 people across 30 countries has now decided who the funniest nation are, and while we were pipped at the post, Ireland still ranked pretty high. Pic: Brian J Ritchie/Hotsauce/REX/Shutterstock
In third place came Ireland, with the natural 'storytelling charm' landing us high up on the list of the funniest countries in the world.
Ryan said: 'Regardless of location, laughter is a universal language. For anyone living or working internationally, understanding these differences can be a quick shortcut to feeling at home.'
The survey asked a series of questions to participants with scientists calculating the average score of people in each country to provide a 'humour score' for each nation.
Ranking in third place, Ireland got top scores for affiliative and self-enhancing humour, which highlights our reputation for storytelling, being friendly as well as emotionally intelligent.
Rounding out the top five, Belgium, Greece, and Chile came in joint fourth place.
The Philippines was ranked number 30 while the USA was ranked at 29.

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